InSSIDer: Wi-Fi manager

InSSIDer is a free application that will automatically detect and display information about all the Wi-Fi networks available to your computer with detailed graphs and statistics so that you can choose the best one for your PC.

Installation & Requirements

The installation should complete very fast as the program is quite small. The only thing you should know about the setup is that the option to send anonymous data and statistics to the company is turned on by default. If you do not want to do this you will have to uncheck the box during the installation. The supported operating systems are Windows XP SP3 and later as well as Mac OS 10.6 and later. In the Windows versions you will need to have the .NET Framework 3.5 or later installed.

Interface

The program is divided into two tabs, the learn and networks ones. In the first tab you will find all the information you will need about how to run the program, what information it displays, how to turn on various filters, how to set up the application and more. In addition to that, you will find links to various other products of the company as well as web seminars and lessons that you might find useful. On the left side panel you will also find what your wireless adapter is and feedback if you have enabled the usage statistics either in the installation or through the Help menu.

The Networks tab is where all the information will be located. Any network that is currently near you and that your wireless adapter can detect will be displayed in this tab. Furthermore, the application will automatically detect their strength and how well they correspond to your current connection. The network you are currently connected to will be displayed with a star icon that signifies it is both your favourite one and the one you are connected by default. However, you can put the star to any network if you want to get more information about it or you want to later connect to it.

The information about the network is displayed in both numbers and graphs. The blue graph shows your starred network and its performance while the red, green and orange ones signify the performance and rating of the other ones. You can directly compare your starred network with the other ones by clicking on them. Graphs will be displayed in the bottom of the interface while the right side panel will show detailed information about it. Finally, the Link score is a measurement of the network performance in relation to your computer, meaning that the higher the link score the better performance you will get from the network.

InSSIDer is an incredible network scanner with a rich interface that will let you find out any details you want about your networks. It should be the first step for anyone looking to optimize their network or if they simply want to know what the best network for them is.